Synonyms

British Empire

American

noun

a former collective term for the territories under the leadership or control of the British crown, including those in the Commonwealth of Nations and their colonies, protectorates, dependencies, and trusteeships.

British Empire British

noun

(formerly) the United Kingdom and the territories under its control, which reached its greatest extent at the end of World War I when it embraced over a quarter of the world's population and more than a quarter of the world's land surface

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

British Empire Cultural

The empire of Britain, which began in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the establishment of colonies in North America and ended in the twentieth century as dozens of nations, formerly British possessions, became independent. At the empire's greatest extent, around 1900, it included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, vast portions of Africa, and many smaller territories throughout the world. The empire ceased to have an “emperor” in the late 1940s, when the British king renounced the title of emperor of India. The empire has been succeeded by the British Commonwealth, which was formed in 1931.

Etymology

Origin of British Empire

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tony, who received the British Empire Medal for services to the prevention of child abuse, told the BBC he was "so happy it's finally happening and that children will be more protected".

From BBC

In the second half of the 19th Century, photography became one of the British Empire's most persuasive instruments for knowing - and classifying - India.

From BBC

Ancient, patriarchal and oracular, Tennyson was not merely the poet laureate of England; he was, like his queen, a symbol of the British Empire.

From The Wall Street Journal

This wasn’t a partition under the aegis of the British Empire: It happened 24 years after the British left.

From The Wall Street Journal

The stolen items were from the collection of the former British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, which was donated to the Bristol Museum after its liquidation in 2013.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023